Chronology of historical events in the Spring and Autumn Period and Warring States Period

Warring States period (476 BC ~ 22 BC1year)

During the Warring States period, Qi, Chu, Yan, Qin, Han, Zhao and Wei were the most powerful, and they were called the "Seven Heroes of the Warring States". Wei Wenhou (reigned from 445 to 369 years ago) appointed Li Kui to carry out reforms, made full use of his education, established army soldiers, reused Wuqi and Ximen Bao to govern places, developed the economy, and became the first powerful country in the early Warring States period. Wei Wuhou was born in Wuqi, from Wei Xianggong uncle, from Wei to Chu. In the twentieth year of Zhou 'an (382 BC), King Mourning of Chu appointed Wuqi to carry out political reform, cut down redundant staff, abolish Shi Qingdishi, an aristocrat, clearly examine the law and prohibit private invitation, which became increasingly powerful. However, the old forces of Chu were too powerful. When Wang Gang of Chu died, Wuqi was shot dead by random arrows. Wei Huiwang moved its capital to Daliang, recruited talents, built water conservancy projects, and used troops abroad in an attempt to annex the Weiguo with Puyang as its capital, causing dissatisfaction among neighboring countries. At this time, Zou Ji and others were appointed to carry out reforms, vigorously rectify politics, encourage people to remonstrate, formulate laws and call for exile, and the economy developed rapidly, becoming a big country with strength second only to Wei. In the Battle of Guiling in the 16th year (353 BC) and the Battle of Maling in the 28th year (3465438 BC+0 BC), the State of Qi took Tian Ji as the general and Sun Bin as the strategist, and defeated Wei Jun with ingenuity. Since then, Qi has become the strongest country in the Central Plains. In order to meet the demand for talents, Qi Xuanwang has expanded the Jixia Academy, which is located in Linzi, the capital of Qi. Scholars who came to Xia Ji were given generous salaries and comfortable living conditions, which enabled them to concentrate on their studies, cultivate their disciples and promote academic progress and prosperity.

In the 13th year (356 BC) and 19th year (350 BC) of Zhou Xianwang, Qin Xiaogong appointed Shang Yang to carry out the most thorough political reform. Shang Yang's political reform encouraged population proliferation, emphasized agriculture and restrained commerce, abolished the system of "Shi Qing Shi Lu", rewarded military service, compiled household registration and implemented the law of sitting in a row, making Qin the most powerful country after the mid-Warring States period. Although Shang Yang was later killed by a car crack, the new law was not abolished. Chyi Chin confronted the east and west, and launched a struggle to win over other vassal States and isolate each other, while countries such as Korea, Wei, Zhao, Chu and Yan wavered between United Qin and United Qin. At this time, two famous politicians appeared, Zhang Yi and Gongsun Yan. They directed a vivid and tragic drama by Lian Heng (splitting six countries) and Zonghe (uniting against Qin) respectively.

The powerful state of Qin continued to expand its territory to the east. In the 40th year of Zhou Xian (329 BC), Ren Wei Yi Cheung came to the State of Qin to see Hui Wenjun, and asked Lian Heng for advice, suggesting that Wei and Chu should be close. Then, with the cooperation of Wei and Chu, they attacked South Korea's new town and Yiyang, drove the army to Luoyang, held the emperor to make the princes, and finally came back to capture the territory of Wei and Chu, forcing all the princes in the world to take care of Qin in the west and complete the great cause of being king. This strategy is exactly what Hui Wenjun wanted, so he took Zhang Yi as his guest. Zhang Yi repeatedly encouraged the attack on Wei State and returned the captured land to Wei State, forcing Wei State to take Qin as the first and enfeoffment fifteen counties, which posed a great threat to other eastern countries. Zhang Yi was appointed as the state minister of Qin. In the forty-sixth year of King Zhou Xian (323 BC), the Wei Dynasty adopted the strategy of uniting with the Communist Party, prompting Wei, Korea, Zhao, Yan and Zhongshan to recognize each other as kings and jointly resist Qin. But soon, Chu sent troops to attack Wei, and Gongsun Yan's strategy was frustrated. Wei Xiang Hui Shi's activities of uniting Qi and Chu also failed and he was deported. Wei Huiwang was hit by Qi and Chu, so he had to appoint Zhang Yi as Wei Xiang in the forty-seventh year of Zhou Xian (322 BC), hoping to unite the soldiers of Qin and Han Dynasties to attack Qi and Chu. However, Zhang Yi's real intention is to ask Wei to serve Qin first, so that other vassal states can follow suit. Wei Huiwang didn't listen to Zhang Yi's advice. With the support of Qi, Chu, Yan, Zhao and North Korea, in the second year of Wang Jing (365,438+09), Zhang Yi was expelled and Gongsun Yan was accepted as Wei Xiang. The following year, Gongsun Yan launched five countries, namely Wei, Chu, Yan, Zhao and Han, to attack the State of Qin for the first time, thinking that they were superior to each other and were defeated by the State of Qin.

Since then, Qin has been attacking Sanjin, taking advantage of the mutual attack between Bashu and Sichuan to send troops to occupy the whole territory of Bashu and gain rich rear base areas. In the fifth year of Liang (3 16), he gave the throne to Guo Xiang. My son has been king for three years, and the country is in chaos. General City was captured by Prince Ping, and the people fought back, killing Prince Ping, and the city was covered with tens of thousands of people. Qi Xuanwang took the opportunity to send troops to attack Yan, and within fifty days, it captured the whole territory of Yan. Because the Qi army killed a large number of civilians, the Yan people rebelled and the Qi army was forced to retreat. However, this incident proves that Qi's strength is still quite strong. At the same time, the League of Qi and Chu strengthened the strength of Chyi Chin.

In order to destroy the alliance between Chu and Qi, two years ago (3 13), Zhang Yi sent an envoy to Chu and broke with Qi. When Chu Huaiwang realized that he had been cheated, he sent his troops to attack Qin. Qin Jun defeated the Chu army in Danyang and occupied six hundred Li of Hanzhong. Yi Cheung also persuaded Han, Zhao, Yan and Qin Lian Heng. In the 14th year of Zhou Nanwang (the first 30 years1year), Qi, Han and Wei ruled the State of Chu and killed Tang Mei. In the sixteenth year of Zhou Nanwang (299 BC), Chu Huaiwang was deceived to the State of Qin, detained and finally died in the State of Qin. Since then, Chu has never recovered.

In the eighth year of Zhou Nanwang (the first 307 years), King Wuling of Zhao rode and shot with clothes, changed the traditional armored soldiers into cavalry, and changed the battle of chariots into mobile warfare, which greatly enhanced the military strength of Zhao State and became a new obstacle to the eastward development of Qin State. In order to attack Zhao, Qin Zhao sent Hou Wei to run here, and Ji Min and Qin Zhao proclaimed themselves at the same time, uniting the five countries to attack Zhao. Su Qin, a lobbyist, saw through Qin's plot and advised the king to give up the Emperor's number and launch an alliance to unite the armies of Yan, Han, Wei and Zhao. In the twenty-eighth year (287 years ago), Qin was forced to cede territory and make peace with Wei and Zhao. Since then, Zhao She, Lian Po and Lin Xiangru, the generals of the State of Zhao, have repeatedly crushed the military attacks and diplomatic pressures of the Qin people and defended the dignity and territory of the State of Zhao.

When the Qi army retreated from Yan State, Yan Zhaowang, who succeeded to the throne, tried hard and humbly sought revenge. Qin and Wei are both highly valued. Help carry out political reform, so that Yan can recover and develop quickly. As a spy, Su Qin sent a mission to the State of Qi to persuade Qi Min to attack the Song Dynasty and the State of Chu in order to weaken the power of the State of Qi. It also agreed with Zhao, Wei, Chu and other countries to jointly cut Qi. In the thirty-first year of Zhou Nanwang (284 BC), Yan and Yan, Zhao, Qin, Wei and Chu, who led the troops, jointly attacked Qi until they reached the capital of Qi and seized most of the territory. Although Tian Dan later recovered the lost land, Qi State no longer had the strength to compete with Qin State.

In the thirty-seventh year of Zhou Nanwang (the first 278 years), the Qin generals attacked the capital city of Chu, which opened the prelude to the Qin unification war. The forces that Chu avoided moved the capital to Chen. The patriotic poet Qu Yuan felt the decline of the country and threw himself into the Miluo River. In the forty-fourth year of Zhou Nanwang (27 1 year ago), Fan Ju, a guest star, presented the strategy of "making friends far away and attacking near" to King Qin Zhaowang, that is, forming an alliance with distant countries, concentrating on defeating neighboring countries first, and then gradually annexing other countries. The king accepted the plan and sent troops to attack North Korea in 50 years (the first 265 years), closing the connection between Shangdang County and Xinzheng, the capital of North Korea, and forcing South Korea to dedicate Shangdang to Qin. Shangdang soldiers and civilians asked Zhao for help, and Zhao sent veteran Lian Po to station troops and Changping to support Shangdang. In 54 AD (260 BC), the general Wang of the Qin Dynasty seized Shangdang and confronted Lian Po Army in Changping. Lian Po reinforced the barriers to defend the attack, breaking the plan of a quick victory. The two sides were deadlocked for four months. Qin used double agents to make Zhao replace Lian Po with Zhao Kuo, a youthful and armchair strategist, as the commander-in-chief of Changping Zhao. Meanwhile, Qin secretly exchanged generals. Zhao Kuo took the initiative as soon as he got to the front. He sent Indiana Jones to divide Zhao and surrounded Zhao Kuo. Zhao Jun was besieged for 46 days, killing people for food, and his morale was in chaos. Zhao Kuo ventured to break through, was killed on the spot, and the whole army was defeated. Buried all the 400,000 soldiers of Zhao alive. The battle of Changping was the decisive battle between Qin and his last strong player in the Central Plains, and it was also the last war in the Warring States period. At this point, the six eastern countries are no longer opponents of Qin.

Before the Battle of Changping, four famous sons of the Warring States appeared in the East, namely Tian Wen of Meng Changjun of Qi, Zhao Sheng of Ping Yuanjun of Zhao, Wu Wuji of Wei and Huang Xie of Chun of Chu. They are polite to the virtuous corporal, invite guests, care about state affairs, seek power, and take all kinds of open, secret, bright and despicable means to deal with the invasion of Qin and save the country from extinction. After the Battle of Changping, Qin Jun took advantage of the situation and surrounded Handan, the capital of Zhao. Qin Jun's death aroused the indignation of the people of Zhao and the fear of other countries. In the face of crisis, Chu Chun, Shen Jun and Wei Xin, Ling Jun led the army to attack Zhao, defeated Qin Jun, and Yan Taizi Dan even sent Jing Ke to assassinate Qin Wangzheng. However, the historical trend cannot be reversed, and the six countries failed to get rid of the fate of national subjugation.

During the Warring States period, the Zhou royal family lost its nominal dominance, but it still managed to maintain it in Luoyang. When Luoyi was built in the early years of the Western Zhou Dynasty, * * * built two cities. The square 17 miles west is called Wangcheng, and the smaller one in the east is called Chengzhou. During the Warring States period, due to the power struggle and enfeoffment within the royal family, the Duke of the West Zhou who lived in the imperial city and the Duke of the East Zhou whose capital was Gongyi (now Gongxian County, Henan Province) appeared one after another. The real king of Zhou Xian lived under the rule of the Duke of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty. In the fifty-ninth year of Zhou Nanwang (the first 256 years), Qin Jun captured Yangcheng (now southeast of Dengfeng, Henan) and Shu Min (now southwest of Dengfeng) and beheaded 40,000 people. In the Western Zhou Dynasty, Cao Jun joined forces with the vassal army to attack Qin in Yi Que (now south of Luoyang, Henan), cutting off the passage between Qin and Yangcheng. King Zhao of Qin sent troops to attack the Western Zhou Dynasty, and the king of the Western Zhou Dynasty had to dedicate all his thirty-six cities to the State of Qin, and the Western Zhou Dynasty perished. In the same year, Zhou Nanwang died, and the Zhou Dynasty, as the country of the son of heaven, ceased to exist. In the first year of King Xiang of Qin Zhuang (249 BC), Lv Buwei, the prime minister of Qin Dynasty, led troops to destroy the Duke of Zhou in the East.

During Qin Zi's filial piety, Shang Yang's political reform passed through Qin Huiwang, Wu Wang and Zhao Haoqi. In 100 years, he established a relatively consolidated centralized rule, attached importance to water conservancy and agricultural production, rewarded military achievements, and the army was well equipped. He also made full use of Ke Qing to plan a battle for Qin. The Vietnam War became more and more powerful among the vassal states, and finally defeated the powerful rivals in the East and became the first power in the world. Emperor Xiaowen of Qin died in the first year (250 years ago), and King Xiang of Qin Zhuang succeeded to the throne, with businessman Lv Buwei as prime minister. In the second year, he led the troops to destroy the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, took Han Zhicheng and Xingyang, and built Sanchuan County. The following year, attack Zhao and Korea, and set up Taiyuan County in Shangdang. Three years ago (247), King Xiang of Zhuang died, and thirteen-year-old Wang Zheng of Qin succeeded to the throne. He was the later Qin Shihuang. In the fifth year of the Qin Dynasty (the first 242 years), Wei was attacked, and 20 cities, such as Zizyphus jujuba, were captured. In the sixth year of Qin's reign (24 1 year ago), the fourth and last military attack on Qin by Chu, Zhao, Wei, Han and other countries was crushed, and Wei Xinling, the most fierce monarch against Qin, was wiped out by double spies. At this point, in the face of Qin, which has a vast territory and is stronger than Mazhuang, the monarchs of the six eastern countries are similar to the chiefs of Qin.

In the ninth year of the King of Qin (the first 238 years), Ying Zheng personally took power and immediately dispatched troops to destroy the old forces of the six countries, which was called Qin's destruction of the six countries. In the seventeenth year (the first 230 years), Korea was destroyed; Twenty-two years (the first 225 years), Wei destroyed; Twenty-four years (first 223 years), Chu was destroyed; Twenty-five years (first 222 years), Yan and Zhao were destroyed; In the twenty-sixth year (the first 22 years1year), the first unified multi-ethnic centralized country in China history was finally established.

King Wuling of Zhao,

The situation in the Warring States Period tried to

political system

During the Warring States period, under the monarch, the vassal state formed a central bureaucratic system with separation of official posts and separation of civil and military powers. Xiang, also known as Xiangbang and Prime Minister, is the first of all officials. A general, also known as a general, is the head of a military attache. In the second year of King Wu (309 BC), the State of Qin began to set up the post of prime minister. The most distinguished of the prime ministers was Xiangbang, and the highest military position was left at the beginning, until the king of Qin Zhao set up a general. Chu has always regarded gold and silver as the highest official position, or God as the highest military attache. The second-level military attache in various countries is Wei, or Guo Wei. The secretary of the monarch is called the suggestion and has the responsibility of supervision. The setting of counties is more common, and the pattern of counties is gradually formed. It turns out that officials are hereditary and have their own fiefs. Beginning in the mid-Warring States period, the monarch changed to give officials at all levels a certain amount of food as a salary, or rewarded them with gold coins and coins. At the same time, the seal system was formed, and the appointment and dismissal of officials were based on the seal, and the transfer of troops was based on the military symbol. In order to concentrate all power in the hands of the monarch. There are townships, villages and collective societies below the county level. There are three old people in the countryside, the court and the inside. Living in a village, there are five things under it, five things are one thing, five things are one thing, and ten things are one thing. How long is it?

In the early Warring States period, the reforms in various countries further systematized the law. The codes compiled by Li Kui of Wei State include Theft Law, Theft Law, Prisoner Law, Arrest Law, Miscellaneous Law and Use of Force Law. Stealing by law, stealing by law, thieves killing by law. The Prison Law and the Arrest Law are procedures for investigating and arresting thieves. Miscellaneous laws are punishments for crimes other than thieves and thieves. The law is a provision to reduce or increase the punishment for crimes according to the situation. Qin has clan punishment. Shang Yang's political reform established the method of sitting, and even formulated severe and severe laws, which increased punishments such as corporal punishment, big monarch, gouging the top, lacing the ribs, and frying in an iron pan. Other countries are also competing to make cruel laws. For example, there are punishments such as boiling, killing, brewing and golden knife. In the State of Chu, there were punishments such as slaughtering, dismembering, cooking, piercing ears, flogging, smashing, cutting, smashing, destroying homes, Zong Yi and Sanzu. And Yan has a hole, a belly, a prison, etc.

economic civilization

During the Warring States period, iron farm tools have ruled out the extensive use of wood and stone farm tools in production, which facilitated Ding's cutting down trees, building water conservancy projects, reclaiming wasteland and intensive cultivation, and promoted the great development of agricultural production. While deep ploughing and weeding, farmers should pay attention to identifying soil properties and choose different crops according to local conditions. With the improvement of fertilization technology, we know how to use fertilizer juice to seed dressing, and manure, green manure and gray manure are widely used. We began to pay attention to seed selection, pest control, border planting, proper sowing density, ventilation and drainage, good at bacon, weeding, thinning seedlings and grasping the farming season. Popularizing the double cropping system in one year has greatly increased the annual output per unit area. Li Kui, the state of Wei, once estimated the grain output at that time, saying that an acre of land (about one third of today's acre) can produce a stone and a half millet in a normal year (about 4 1 kg today), and the large, medium and small harvests can reach six stones, four and a half stones and three stones, while the small, medium and large harvests can only hit one stone, seven buckets and three buckets. Farmers need to ration 1.5 stone per person per month on average, and a family of five eats 90 stones a year, so in normal years, the grain produced by a family of 100 mu is enough for the whole family to eat for one and a half years.

During the Warring States period, the handicraft industry developed greatly, and the production levels of iron smelting, copper casting, lacquerware and silk weaving were significantly improved. He mastered the pig iron smelting and casting technology by high-temperature liquid reduction method, and was able to forge high-carbon steel for sword body, and the cast iron began to soften. Casting, welding, wax etching, gold and silver inlaying and other processes are widely used in the production of bronzes, resulting in the process of painting, gilding and carving on the surface of bronzes, which is light and smart in shape, meticulous and complicated in pattern and has superb technical and artistic level. Lead-barium glass has been produced. Lacquer manufacturing has become an independent handicraft sector. There are more than ten colors of wooden lacquerware, such as black, red, yellow, blue, purple and white. Painted all kinds of beautiful patterns on the utensils and invented the dryer. There are tapestries and hand-woven fabrics with complex structures and patterns. Some private craftsmen appeared, such as Yi Dun, the chef supervisor of Lu, Qin, the widow of Zhusha, and Guo Zong, the smelter of Zhao.

In order to meet the needs of commercial development, there were many kinds of coins in circulation during the Warring States period. Different countries have different styles of copper coins. Knife-shaped coins were mainly used in Qi and Yan Dynasties, shovel-shaped cloth coins were mainly used in Sanjin Dynasty, circular coins with holes were mainly used in Qin and Zhou Dynasties, and shell-shaped ant nose coins were mainly used in Chu Dynasty. Gold coins include Chu cube and Chen cube. In the early years of the Warring States, Wei sold 30 yuan for every stone of millet, and farmers planted 100 mu of land in normal years. Excluding rice and tax, the remaining 4,500 grains of millet could be sold 1350 yuan. It took 300 yuan for each household to taste the new Spring and Autumn Temple, and each person dressed in 300 yuan for one year, and the whole family 1500 yuan, not 450 yuan.

Prose creation was very prosperous during the Warring States period, with various historical essays, philosopher essays and other prose works. These essays are written in words close to spoken language, or Wang Yang is wanton, eloquent, passionate, colorful, metaphorical, thorough in analysis or rigorous in logic. The perfect combination of realism and romanticism makes Qu Yuan's poems have great artistic appeal. While imitating Qu Yuan, Song Yu's works developed and created Chu Ci, changing Sao style into Fu style, which had a great influence on later literary creation.

Scientific development

During the Warring States Period, Qi Ren, an outstanding astronomer, wrote Astronomy and applied for it. They found that the fluorescence (Mars) and Venus (Taibai) in the five major planets are retrograde, determined the length of the rendezvous period between Venus and Jupiter, and determined that the value star period of Mars is 1.9 years and that of Jupiter is 12 years, which is very close to the determination of modern science. Measuring the distance between the 28 constellations and other stars is an important achievement of quantitative observation of early stars. During the Warring States period, the division and arrangement of the 24 solar terms were basically completed, which played an important role in agricultural production. The Zhuan Xu calendar was implemented in the Qin Dynasty, with October as the beginning and September as the end of the year.

There are many geometric propositions in the application of Mohist Scripture in the Warring States Period, such as two parallel lines are equidistant, three points are straight, the radius of the same circle is equal, and the four corners of a rectangle are at right angles. A counting chip, a computing tool, was invented. Ten sticks of different shapes were used to represent numbers, which greatly accelerated the calculation speed. There are simple concepts and names of fractional arithmetic and special angles in Gong Ji. The book Zhou Bi suan Jing may have been written in the early Han Dynasty, but it is a summary of surveying and mapping experience in the pre-Qin period, in which quite complicated fractional algorithm and Kaiping method are used.

The knowledge of mechanics is also well expounded in Mo Jing. It is considered that force is a means for human body to transmit and change motion, and it is pointed out that the balance of lever is related to the weight of both ends and the length of force arm. It is found that there is a certain balance between the size of the ship and the depth of its sinking in the water, which is a simple expression of the principle of buoyancy.

Philosophical thinking

During the Warring States period, the drastic changes in society put forward a series of requirements for academic culture. Coupled with the formation of the literati class and the advocacy of the rulers, many schools have emerged one after another, forming a situation in which a hundred schools of thought contend. At that time, in addition to Confucianism and Taoism, there were Mohist school represented by Han Fei, Legalist school represented by Han Fei, Yin and Yang school represented by Zou Yan, famous scholar represented by Gong Sun, strategist represented by Sun Bin, farmer represented by Xu Behavior, strategist represented by Yi Cheung, Gongsun Yan and Su Qin, and sage represented by thought. All factions wrote books, widely taught their disciples, participated in the discussion of state affairs, criticized and infiltrated each other, and their academic thoughts were extremely prosperous. Qin unified the six countries, advocated legalism, used both yin and yang as teachers, burned books to bury Confucianism, and superstitious violence, which brought legalism to the extreme.

Heroes or celebrities

Qu Yuan, Jing Ke

Qin Dynasty (248- 206 BC)

In 246, the King of Qin ascended the throne successfully, because the Queen Mother and Prime Minister Lv Buwei were in charge of young state affairs. In the first 238 years (the ninth year of the King of Qin), the King of Qin ruled personally, got rid of Lu and others, attached importance to Lisi, and embarked on the strategy of unifying the six countries.

230 years ago, Shi Teng led an army to attack South Korea, captured Wang Han 'an, and South Korea perished. In 229, the Qin general Wang Jian led an army to attack Zhao. In 228, when he entered Han, Zhao Wang moved to the map of Handan, and Zhao died. In 225, Qin sent Wang Ben to attack Wei, and diverted the river ditch to irrigate Wei Liang. Wei surrendered and Wei died. In 223, the State of Qin sent Wang Jian to lead an army of 600,000 to attack Chu. The king of Chu was captured and Chu died. As early as 227, the prince of Yan sent Jing Ke to assassinate the king of Qin, but it didn't work. In 226, Qin took the opportunity to capture Yan Dou, and the prince moved to Liaodong. In 222, Qin attacked Liaodong, captured the prince and died. 22 1 year (in the 26th year of Qin dynasty), Qin sent Wang Ben to attack Qi from north to south, and he died alive. At this point, Qin finally annexed the six countries and completed the great cause of reunifying the whole country. Establish the first unified empire in the history of China. In the history of China, the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, which lasted for more than 500 years, finally ended.

Ying Zheng has adopted a series of new policies in politics, military affairs, economy, transportation, culture and opening to the outside world in order to strengthen national unity and ensure the long-term stability of the Qin Empire. A series of policies and measures of the first emperor greatly strengthened the unity of the whole country and had a great influence on later generations. However, his career was completed in just ten years under the cruel oppression of the people, so the rule of the Qin Dynasty was inevitably characterized by harshness and tyranny. During the twelve years of the reign of the first emperor, the cruelty of his administration has been exposed.